Home Movies (1954)

effects with Camera Speeds By S . WEBB IF YOL desire more control, and movies that are different, then it is a good idea to experiment with camera speeds. Speed control can produce breathtaking action shots, detail movement and compress it into a feu moments of time, and a variety of effects not possible any other way. That little button marke "8"', "16", '"32" and "64" which can be found on anv modern camera, indicates the speed of the camera shutter. In other words. "8" means that eight frames per second are exposed, and "16 means that twice as many frames per second are whipping past the lens opening and so on to sixty four frames. Bv judicial manipulation of this little button, the filmer is able to slow down or speed up the rate of movement of his subject. He can speed up action which is almost snail-like to the human eye. to the speed of a tornado. And he can slow down fast movement which is almost impossible to see without this film miracle. Yet all this can be done by anyone — and if the filmer has never done it before, it is so simple that he can learn in a very short interval. Let"s take normal motion first. Turning that little button one way or the other can either accelerate motion or slow it down: with high speed objects a setting of "64" is used so that the greater amount of footage exposed will give us better detail, and make the object appear to be moving normally. So. a normal subject can be made to appear unusually fast or slow, and a high speed object can be reduced in speed so that every deail of its motion can be studied and analyzed. For the purpose of this discussion. 16 frames per second will be considered normal. If we shoot a sequence which has a time interval of five seconds, then it will take five seconds to see the sequence on the screen. If we shoot at 8 frames per second, then this means that the "normal" action has been reduced to only eight frames — half the amount of the normal action i 16 I. And it will look that way too. Figures moving normally will appear jumpy and doll-like, simply because the projector will project the image at the same speed as the first sequence. Time taken to show this on the screen with be 2% seconds as com • See "EFFECTS on Page 126 Basic Camera Moves By JULIUS SMITH WHEN we talk about motion pictures — we think of movement. And movement must be a basic condition of the subject or the camera. When we shoot a sequence, then the subject must move while the camera remains stationary, or else the subject does not move and the camera does; one or the other of these basic conditions must move in order to portray a satisfactory piece of business for the film. But let s break it down and analyze the three situations: camera moves, camera is stationary, and the camera and subject both move. I. The Camera is Stationary: In this ca?e. we shoot it as we see it. and pan to right or left whenever it is necessary to follow the action to either side. At times the camera will also move up and down to include the dog who has been watching her. and hugs the animal to her face in an affectionate manner. Here we have made a statement on film — that Suzv is an affectionate child with her pet. First shot to be made is a long shot. Reason: to introduce the audience to the locale of the shot and explain what it is, where it is. and general condition of the terrain. When this is done, we move in for a medium shot, and the function of this is to get a closer look at the action. This sequence should be a little longer than the first one because it explains the first shot by furnishing more detail. So. right now we know quite a bit about the house and its surroundings and we have just been introduced to a little girl. At this point we don't know whether she is a little hellion. Top left, subject inanimate, camera fixed. i Bottom left) subject in motion. < Bottom right) camera in motion irom above. These photos illustrate the basic camera mores. tTop right* camera fixed, subject in motion. action but this is relatively rare. ith an anchored camera it is a simple matter to determine focus because we can check distance before shooting and then set the lens as the subject moves forwards and backwards. Let's take a simple example and break it down into the necessary shots so that an intelligent record of the action can be made. Daughter Suzy is romping in front of the house, and suddenlv she stops. She picks up her mama's darling, or what, so we make still another shot. We get closer, and as we do so. the girl picks up her dog and covers him with childish kisses. It has now been established that Suzv is a little angel and loves her pet. and everything is right with the world. Simple? Of course, but we have known filmers who would have shot the sequence just described in an en . See "BASIC MOVES" on Page 127